U.S. President Barack Obama has declared the swine flu outbreak a national emergency, which will allow health officials to bypass some federal guidelines so patients can have quicker access to treatment.
Obama signed a declaration late Friday that will allow Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to bypass federal rules to approve additional clinics at schools or community centres.
It also allows HHS to permit hospitals to move emergency rooms to alternative sites to shift the burden caused by a flu outbreak and to protect those who are not infected.
Hospitals will even be allowed to change some of their own rules, with government approval.
"As a nation, we have prepared at all levels of government, and as individuals and communities, taking unprecedented steps to counter the emerging pandemic," Obama wrote in the declaration.
He said that as the number of sick continues to climb, there's a potential "to overburden health care resources."
The White House said Saturday the declaration was a pre-emptive move ahead of an anticipated spike in H1N1 cases. The outbreak has killed more than 1,000 people in the United States since it began last spring, including nearly 100 children.
Infectious diseases specialist Dr. Neil Rau told Â鶹´«Ã½ Channel there's no reason to fear the White House's decision.
"It's sort of an operational measure to make sure that the response to the increasing flu activity in the U.S. is appropriate and is sort of activated," Rau said Saturday evening.
On Friday, the World Health Organization said that more than 5,000 people worldwide have died from swine flu, but that is considered a low estimate.
Rau said flu-death numbers must be taken in context, as people die from such viruses every year.
"Hospital admissions are going up, but one reassuring thing is that the total number of deaths that are being seen, generally speaking, is not that different from a typical seasonal flu year," he said.
"On the other hand, with regards to children, it seems to be somewhat worse than what is usually seen."
Obama's declaration comes nearly six months after his administration declared swine flu a public health emergency, which allowed officials to ship about 12 million doses of anti-flu medications from a federal reserve.
While officials in Canada approved a swine flu vaccine this week and began shipping millions of doses to the provinces, production delays in the U.S. have hampered the government's initial attempt to have 120 million doses available by mid-October.
By Wednesday, only 11 million doses had been shipped, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The administration now says it hopes to have about 50 million doses ready by mid-November, and 150 million in December.
With files from The Associated Press
